We all love and adore our dogs and want them to stay fit and fine. When you look into your pet’s eyes, you find such deep emotions flowing through them. It’s said that Dogs speak through their eyes. For dogs, Eyes are a means of communicating. However, their eyes may become runny, watery or dirty sometimes. In that case, the dog not only suffers but the owner also fails to read through their eyes. Therefore, special care must be taken for their eyes.
It’s important to pay attention to each body part of your dog. Just cleaning their body while bathing them is not enough and since eyes are one of the most essential organs, you need to keep your dog’s eyes clean and while doing that, you must be very careful as eyes are very sensitive and delicate.
If you own a dog and are looking for ways to clean your dog’s eyes, then here is a brief guide for you. Most of us get a dog but are amateurs at dog care. So, if you are wondering how to get rid of that runny discharge from your adorable pet’s eyes or just want to know how to keep their eyes clean, then just read on.
Tips to Clean Dog’s Eyes
Some must-read tips on cleaning a dog’s eyes-
- Eyedrops – Of most common eye issues, is eye irritation. When you see you dog partially or completely closing it’s eye, you must check if there’s some dirt or allergen in it’s eye. Due to some dirt or foreign substance, your dog can have itchy and irritated eyes. You should use dog’s eye drops in that case. Be very careful as you do that. Gently hold your dog’s eye open and put one or two eye drops. Eye drops work well with general eye irritation, dryness, dirt and even in eye infections.
- A soft clean sponge or washcloth – Use a soft and clean sponge or washcloth to clean the surrounding area of eyes. Soak the cloth in room-temperature water. Don’t use hot water as it may hurt the dog. Squeeze out excess water and then using the sponge, gently wipe around the eyes to remove the dirt.
- Wet Wipes – Many also find it easy to use moist wipes to clean their pet’s eyes. With wet wipes, one thing that you need to check is the ingredients. Make sure there is no such solution in the wipes which could cause irritation in your dog’s eyes or harm them. You must never use human wet-wipes. If at all, you want to use wet-wipes to clean their eyes, get the ones specially made for dogs.
- Ointment – Humans are well-acquainted with use of ointments but in case of dogs, applying an ointment can be a little difficult. For some eye infections in dogs, Veterinarians may prescribe an eye ointment for your dog. In order to apply eye ointment, one should always hold the lower lid of the dog, gently pull it downwards and squeeze out the ointment tube and apply a small amount of the ointment between the eyeball and the lid. You have to be very careful so that the ointment doesn’t touch the eyeballs. That will harm the dog’s eyes.
- Vaseline or Cornstarch – In dogs with light-colored fur, we commonly see dark linear patches near the eye area. These are called tear-stains as they are formed due to the water discharge from eyes. You can gently apply some Vaseline or cornstarch on the blemished area and wipe off with a soft wet cloth. Be cautious that it doesn’t get into their eyes.
Precautions while cleaning Dog’s Eye
Apart from knowing how to clean your dog’s eyes, you must take a few important precautions to avoid eye problems –
- While giving your dog a bath, make sure the shampoo or soap doesn’t get into its eyes. It’s always advisable to use tearless Dog Shampoo.
- Never use paper towels or tissues as they may tear into small pieces and stick in your dog’s eyes.
- Trim the hair around their eyes as long furs can around cause irritation in eyes. Never try doing it yourself. You can take your pet to a professional groomer to get it done.